The suburban vote has consistently been in national headlines since the Nov. 6 midterm elections, when the Democratic Party picked up at least 38 seats (two races still remain uncalled) in the House of Representatives, securing Democratic control of this chamber of government. Pundits across the political spectrum noted the importance of the leftward shift of suburban voters and have largely credited them for the Democratic victory.
One race, however, pointed in a different direction: Voters in Maine’s rural 2nd Congressional would eventually elect a Democratic candidate with a bold, progressive message.
But first, a quick refresher on the internal conflict within the Democratic Party.
Since the 2016 presidential primary, with Hillary Clinton besting progressive challenger Bernie Sanders, supporters of these candidates have debated the most effective direction for the future Democratic Party platform. Generally speaking, Clinton’s moderate message found more traction in urban and suburban areas, while Sanders and his Democratic Socialist bent appealed to rural voters.
After Clinton’s loss in the 2016 presidential election, many progressives criticized her failure to connect with working-class voters in the Rust Belt, claiming Sanders would have easily secured Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania – states crucial to winning the presidency. These supporters saw Trump’s victory as a warning sign: For Democrats, winning metropolitan votes while sacrificing rural ones could be a problem for the party’s future electoral viability.
The results of the 2018 midterms, however, will likely embolden Democratic Party strategists to continue on Clinton’s favored trajectory, designed to win moderate urban and suburban voters while focusing less on rural voters. By gaining enough votes in metropolitan areas, Democrats can concede rural terrain to right-wing populists like Donald Trump and Steve Bannon, whose anti-immigration, anti-globalist, anti-elite message appealed to small-town voters in the 2016 presidential election.
In Maine’s overwhelmingly rural 2nd Congressional District, however, one recently successful campaign could embolden Sanders and his supporters.
Jared Golden, a former Marine who enlisted after 9/11, and afterwards worked for Republican Sen. Susan Collins, has the makings of a typical conservative. The policies he supports, however, belong to a different side of the political spectrum – many of them squarely in the most progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Golden favors moving toward a “Medicare-for-All” health care system, uses the “richest 1 percent” language championed by Sanders and progressive activists, supports campaign finance reform by ending Citizens United, and has taken no corporate PAC money.
In his victory speech on Nov. 15, Golden emphasized the working-class origins of left-wing politics in the United States:
“I believe in our campaign, we’ve gotten back to the Democratic Party’s roots. It’s about working people, healthcare, higher wages, and social security. It’s about the promises we’ve made to the working people of this country, promises I intend to keep,” he said.
His speech continued with a rebuke of campaign contributions influencing politics in Washington and a reiteration of his own commitment to everyday, working-class people instead of wealthy donors.
“How are you supposed to do your job when you spend half your day talking to big donors? I’m not playing that game. I’m not going to be a part-time congressman. I’m going to hold town halls, not just fundraisers. … I’m going to keep visiting our docks, farms, and forests, so the fishermen, farmers, and loggers of this state will have a chance to make their voice heard.”
While the fight for the suburban vote will likely dominate political strategy discussions moving forward, Golden’s success gives Sanders and his supporters hope. Perhaps a rural, working-class, grassroots message can also be a legitimate path to victory for Democratic candidates.
Ezra Sassaman of Bar Harbor studied German at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. After graduation, he received a Fulbright scholarship and taught English and American culture in Germany during the 2016 presidential election, which sparked his interest in U.S. politics.